Thursday, December 12, 2013

Birchbox December 2013 Review!

All I can say is, FINALLY! I'm subscribed to a few different subscription boxes (and a new one this month, so stay tuned!) and none of them have arrived until today. I was beginning to lose hope when I saw this beautifully festive Birchbox arrive at my door!

How cute! In case you haven't been up-to-speed with beauty subscriptions, Birchbox is a company that sends you 4-5 deluxe size samples of beauty and lifestyle products for $10 a month. You can review the products on their website to earn points that you can use as cash at their online store. It's super fun, and if you want to sign up, please consider using my referral link here: Join Birchbox!

This month is a holiday box and the theme was, "Sparkle and Shine" as you can see from the adorable box:

Each item in the boxes this month is based on it being a good item for the holiday season. I peeked at what was going to be in my box beforehand, so I knew what was going to be inside ahead of time (they post the contents of your box on their website a few days before it arrives) but I was still excited to get my little present!

Here's the "first look" inside!

So right off the bat I caught a glimpse of a few mystery bottles. My other items were hidden inside of the little blue box. Let's take a look at everything I received and I will let you know my first reactions. I just cracked this baby open minutes ago so I haven't had any time to test them out, yet!

1. (Lifestyle Extra) Chuao Popcorn Pop Chocopod

So I don't normally start off with the "extra" in the box, but this was the first thing I grabbed at and immediately ate. I was able to contain myself enough to save a piece for my fiance, but yea...I love chocolate! This was so so delicious, and only 60 calories! This was a rich milk chocolate with what seemed like mini pop-rocks (the ones that pop in your mouth!) along with little pieces of popcorn. It was ridiculously delicious and I wish I had more!

2. Color Club Nail Polish in "Baldwin Blues"

Womp Womp. The last Birchbox I got before I canceled a year or so ago had a Color Club polish in it, and I wasn't impressed. Come to think of it, I'm not really much of a polish fanatic anyway, so getting yet another bottle in my Birchbox was just a "meh" moment. This shade is just a basic smokey navy blue creme. Color Club in my opinion is a terrible formula and I'm just not a fan of their polishes. This one is going right into the trade pile.

3. Grand Central Beauty S.M.A.R.T. Skin Perfecting Polisher

This is the teeny tiny bottle you see on the bottom right of the photo. It's kind of a strange product because it's apparently a toning peel, yet the directions say to massage a dime-size amount into clean, dry skin for 30 seconds. You don't rinse it off, so I find that a bit odd. Either way, I received a face mask from this company through Beauty Army over a year ago, and I thought it smelled like old fruit and moth balls and did nothing for my skin. I am happy to report that this polisher doesn't have the same smell, but I'm wondering if this tiny sample is going to give me enough to determine whether or not it's doing anything for my skin. I suppose only time will tell!

4. Beauty Protector Shampoo

I'm sure most people would be excited to receive this, but as an avid couponer, I have about 40 bottles of shampoo and conditioner in my stockpile, so getting hair products in my subscription boxes is probably the biggest letdown. This isn't Birchbox's fault, and I'm more than willing to give this stuff a shot, although it's got to be the best thing I've ever tried for me to actually want to buy a full size. It doesn't seem like it's anything special, just says it's sulfate-free (which is nice) and adds shine and volume. We'll see.

5. Beauty Protector Conditioner

Same thing I said about the shampoo applies here. The conditioner contains Shea Butter and "pearl powder" whatever the heck that is! The good thing about these samples is that they aren't foil packets, so I will at least be able to see how well they're working for me. Also they have a really light, almost vanilla-like scent which is very pleasant. The bottles both say they are Sulfate Free, paraben free, vegan, safe on all hair (color safe as well), moisture reviving, volume/shine enhancing, seals cuticle, UV protection, and smoothes hair. I think that someone who is looking for a work horse hair product that is also vegan and paraben/sulfate-free would really enjoy these products. Maybe I will too!

Birchbox also threw in a little diamond-shaped cell-phone screen cleaner that has their logo on it. It sticks to the back of your phone (like a window cling) and can be removed and used and then put back again. Cute little thing to throw in, I suppose! :)

Overall, this is leaps and bounds better than the kind-of lame box I got last month, but still not where I would like it to be. I definitely got my money's worth and I'm definitely interested to try the products I received (except the polish) so I suppose that's a win overall for Birchbox. I'm looking forward to seeing what they have in store for the new year!

If you're interested in signing up for Birchbox, Please use my referral link HERE

I received the shampoo/conditioner in my first box... which happened to be November 2013. Maybe with your first month (depending on when you subscribe or where you live) you might get older box left-overs? I am supposed to get my December box tomorrow, and the contents are on par with the other box reviews.

I did like the shampoo/conditioner... always nice for a gym bag, and it does smell good and left my hair feeling bouncy.

I subscribed in October, but I have been subscribed in the past, and I believe I've received a few "older" samples in my boxes so far, which I'm fine with. Sometimes other people get things in their box that I wanted, so there's always hope that I'll get it in a future box! :) I did throw them into my shower just to give them a try. They smell a lot like the "Pink Sugar" perfume, in my opinion! They didn't WOW me or anything, but I definitely don't regret using them.